Lorenza married young, at the age of 15. While not unusual in the 19th century, not many people in my ancestry married that young which makes me wonder if it was a shotgun wedding.

She was one of my paternal 3 x great-grandmothers.

She was born on Wednesday 10 October 1832¹ in Valletta². She was the daughter of Calcedonio Laferla³ and Rosa neé Psaila⁴.

Canon Michael Cilia⁵ baptised her in the Roman Catholic Collegiate Church of St Paul Shipwrecked⁶ the following day⁷ as Carmela Laurentia Vincentia Lucarda Emmanuela Rosaria⁸.

Family

On Tuesday 18 July 1848⁹ she married Domenico Magri¹⁰ in Birkirkara¹¹.

Together they had 1 child I’m aware of:

• Marianna

Crowd-funded geneological sites claim she had another daughter:

• Rosa

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Notable events

Lorenza married young, at the age of 15, and her husband Domenico was only 13. In those days Malta was a British colony and subject to British rules which stipulated that the age of consent was 13¹². Nevertheless, my suspicion is that Lorenza was pregnant at the time of marriage.

Residence

After she was born, the family moved to Birkirkara since the church register mentions her as living in the parish¹³. I have no indication as to when this happened.

In those days, Birkirkara was considerably larger than it is today. She may have lived in present-day St Julians, San Gwann, Sliema or Santa Venera. Given her daughter’s connection to Sliema, I’m inclined to think Sliema is the most likely possibility.

She moved back though because her daughter was born in Valletta in the 1860s.

Death

I have no information about when she died, what she died of, and where she is buried.

References

1. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
2. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
3. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
4. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
5. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
6. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
7. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
8. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
9. Extract of Marriage of Domenico Magri and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Liber Matrimonium, [online] Volume VIII (1800 – 1853). Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 31 Oct. 2025].[↩]
10. Extract of Marriage of Domenico Magri and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Liber Matrimonium, [online] Volume VIII (1800 – 1853). Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 31 Oct. 2025].[↩]
11. Said-Vassallo, C. (2025). Magro – Maltagenealogy. [online] Malta Genealogy. Available at: https://maltagenealogy.com/magro-6/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2025][↩]
12. Lammasniemi, L. (2020). The Age of Consent in the 19th Century: Trustworthiness and Capacity on Trial. [online] Lawandhistoryreview.org. Available at: https://lawandhistoryreview.org/article/laura-lammasniemi-the-age-of-consent-in-the-19th-century-trustworthiness-and-capacity-on-trial/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2025].[↩]
13. Extract of Marriage of Domenico Magri and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Liber Matrimonium, [online] Volume VIII (1800 – 1853). Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 31 Oct. 2025].[↩]